Bookholder



Oct. 12, 1954 E. v. MocoLLuM 2,691,239

BooKHoLDER Filed July 2B, 1952 236 FI cs. :5.V 54

I l 16 24 INVENTOR. Fi G 2 ELMR v MCCOLLUM @filly/fwn@ AGENT Patented Oct. l2, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT assign OFFICE BooKnoLnaa Elmer V. McCollum, Baltimore, Md. Application July 2s, 1952, serial No. 301,221

(ci. i5-so) Claims. l

This invention relates generally to book holders and more particularly to .an improved book holderof the body-supported type.

Book holders of this general type are known in the art and as a rule are characterized by a number of undesirable features. Among these are an excessive weight making the book holder tiresome to use, a lack of lateral or longitudinal stability with respect to the supporting body so as to require the use of the hands, a limited adjustability and a difficulty in making the available adjustments rendering the device unsuitable for enfeebled persons, a lack of flexibility of use so as to be single purpose devices, and an unnecessarily complicated structure rendering the book holder unnecessarily diicult and eX- pensive to manufacture.

Accordingly, the chief object of the present invention is to provide an improved light weight bock holder which will obviate the above mentioned undesirable features characterizing known structures.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved book holder which may be supported on the thighs and braced against the trunk of the body so as to hold a book steady and at the proper level and angle for reading by any individual without requiring `the use of the hands.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a book holder of the type described which may be readily adjusted with a minimum of effort by aged or invalid .persons as reading, etc., progresses.

A further important object is to provide a portable, lightweight book holder in which part or all of a set of adjusting means may be manipulated so as to vary the height, angular position or closeness to the body of the supported book in two or more ways.

A still further important object is to provide an improved body supported book holder which may be used while the person is sitting up or lying down, as a bed table, or which may be folded into a compact unit for storage purposes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawings I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In this showing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the book holder comprising the present invention in operative position;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the invention;

Figure 3 is a rear elevational View thereof; and

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the 'book holder in collapsed .or folded position for storage.

Referring to the drawings, numeral i designates the -book holder as a whole which comprises essentially a base l2, a book support I4 and aconnecting standard it. The .book holder is preferably formed of wood. which is not cold to the touch and hence more `desirable to the aged or invalids, although it may also be readily formed from metal or plastic materials.

The lbase l2 is of elongated rectangular shape and vis provided `with a pair of S10ts 4.3 between its central and end yportions vwhich extend from` its front to its 'back edges. A second pair of somewhat shorter slots .20 lare formed in the top surface of the `base vl 2 also between its center and ends ,and these slots also extend longitudinally of the :base and centrally of .and open into the slots yl.

Each of the slots is receives the end of a ilat,

elongated` and rectangular stabilizing arm 22.

which is of only slightly less thickness than the slots so that the arms are snugly received therewithin. The ends of the arms 22 are provided with threaded vapertures 24 for the reception of large wing .bolts 26 which bear against the upper surface of the base 4lll .and project through .the vertical slots 2t. vIt .will :be readily apparent that the ends of the stabilizing arms 22 may be slid along the slots i8. kas the wing bolts 26 are slid along the slots 2i! and thearms as a whole may be pivoted about .the wing bolts in varied angular positions, and clamped tightly in the ydesired position to the base I2.

The base t2 is provided at its midpoint with a transversely extending upstanding `plate 2d hav-,- ing an 4elongated slot .'i formed therein and .the base 2S of the ,plate 2.8 may `be .of greater width so as lto `form `a support for .the standard l S when the book holder I0 is in the folded or storage position. (Figure 4.)

The standard l@ is formed as an H-shaped member and the ends of its upper and lower legs are respectively provided with aligned apertures one each of which is threaded. The lower legs of the standard I6 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the plate 2t to which they are pivotally and slidably connected by means of a large wing bolt 32 which passes through one of the unthreaded apertures, the slot Sil and into the threaded aperture of the lower legs of the standard l5. Thus, the standard may be tightly clamped to the plate 28 after it has been adjusted to the correct position with respect thereto.

The book support It is provided on its rear or under surface with a depending plate 34 having 3 a slot 3S to and through which the upper legs of the standard IS are pivotally and slidably connected by a large wing bolt 3S in the same manner as described in connection with the lower legs. The book support I4 comprises a flat plate which in normal usage is maintained in an inclined position as shown in Figure l. The lower edge of the book support i4 is provided with a ledge il of suitable width as is conventional.

It will be noted that each of the wing bolts 25, 32 and 33 are of substantial size in order that they may be turned by the palm of the hand so as to be readily tightened or loosened by invalids having normally inadequate strength in their nngers, Although the Wing bolts 32 and 33 are shown positioned for use by right-handed persons, they may obviously be arranged on the left side for left-handed persons.

In use, the book holder il! is placed transversely across the thighs of a person in sitting position with the wing bolts 28 loosened so that the arms 22 may be freely pivoted or slid in the slots I8. The outer ends of the arms are swung snugly against the hips or soft iieshy body portion where the hips should be to thus stabilize the base l2 and hold it and the book support ld (when in adjusted position) completely steady for reading without requiring the use of the hands. The relative positions of the base I2, standard I6, and book support lll are now adjusted until, as illustrated in Figure l, the book B is supported in the optimum position for reading as to height, closeness to the eyes, and angle of the plate i4 with respect to the Vertical.

It will be noted that in any adjusted position such as shown in Figure l, the Weight of the book B is supported on the base l2 and the stabilizing arms 22 and the weight is thus between its three point support and steadiness is assured. The book holder l is readily used as a table by changing the angle of the plate I4 and while lying in bed by adjusting the plate to proper position as in the sitting position` An important feature of the invention resides in the combinations of adjustment made possible by the structure making its use and manipulation by invalids or enieebled persons extremely easy and simple. For example, the angle of the book support on plate l may be readily varied by loosening the wing bolt 3B and pivoting the plate thereabout as desired. Or instead, the wing bolt 32 may be loosened and the plate and standard pivoted thereabout until the desired angular change is effected or pivoting about both wing bolts may be eiected.

The height of the plate M may be varied by pivoting the standard I6 about the wing bolt 32 or sliding the Wing bolt 38 in the slot 36 or both.

The distance of the book support i4 from the eyes of the user may be Varied by sliding or pivoting the standard in either or both of the slots 3B and 3S.

It will now be readily apparent that the book holder comprising the present invention relieves the user from the necessity of supporting the book with his hands while reading, enables the book to be held steady without motion due to the tremor of fatigued arm muscles, permits the book to be moved toward or away from the reader and angularly so as to maintain the page in proper reading position, and leaves the hands free for flattening or turning the page. The book holder is light in weight, strongly constructed, may be economically manufactured and when not in use, may be swung to a horizontal position to occupy but little space for storage or shipping purposes.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departure from the spirit or" the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

l. A book holder of the body supported type comprising an elongated base adapted to rest on and transversely of the thighs, a pair of arms adapted to rest on the thighs and projecting from opposite ends of said base to rigidly engage the hips and stabilize the holder against the weight of a book, a standard mounted on said base, and a book support mounted on said standard, said arms being slidably and pivotally connected with said base to accommodate for dimensional variations oic the body and including means for maintaining an adjusted position.

2. A book holder as recited in claim l wherein said standard is slid-ably connected to said base.

3. a book holder as recited in claim l wherein said standard is pivotally and slidably connected to said base.

a. A book holder as recited in claim l wherein said standard is slidably connected to said base and Said book support.

Number Name Date 1,051,047 W'Ood Jan. 2l, 1913 1,257,586 Deming Feb. 26, 1918 1,900,250 Mitchell et al Mar. 7, 1933 

